Paying Your Dues
by Press
Summary: Weird story...Jessie and James inheret Mewtwo's powers, and use them to test Ash to the limit. Read and review, please.


Paying Your Dues  
By: PeceTheFCGuy  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. I wish I did, because I'd be filthy stinking rich, and wouldn't need to write to pass the time. Why try to entertain yourself and others when you can roll around naked in bushels of cash? Anyway, I repeat: I do not own Pokémon, any of the characters, or any of the licenses.  
  
This is my first try at a complete, well-written Pokémon fan fic, so please be as truthful as possible with the reviews. I'm looking to become a better writer, not a decent writer who thinks they're better. Anyway, I originally tried to pass this story idea to another site, and it was sent back to me before I could clear the "Your mail has been sent" message. Apparently it kinda sucked. So, I'm giving it another go. Now, on with the story.  
  
Chapter I: The Road Less Traveled  
  
"Ash, we've been going in circles! I saw this tree two hours ago!"  
  
"Well, Misty, maybe if you paid more attention to the path instead of the trees, you could help us find a way out of the forest."  
  
"You said you could navigate."  
  
"I say a lot of things."  
  
Brock sighed. Ash and Misty had been bickering like this all day with no signs of stopping anytime soon. He never could understand what their relationship was. Ash had never confessed any sort of love to Misty, and vice versa...but they fought like a married couple! It all started back at the Saffron Pokémon Center, where Ash and Misty had trouble agreeing on which path to take to get to Hazel, a small town outside of Vermilion city. 'Come to think of it...we left at eight in the morning...but it's almost dark out. How long have we been traveling?' Brock thought. He checked his watch.  
  
"Guys, it's almost eight thirty...we've been walking twelve and a half hours through this stupid forest. Maybe we should camp for the night. You two need the rest. You've been arguing all day."  
  
"It's not MY problem," said Misty, "that Ash has to be so immature and pigheaded when it comes to directions!"  
  
"And it's not MY problem," said Ash, "that Misty thinks we should always go in the opposite direction of where I think we should go!"  
  
"It wouldn't be a problem if you just went in the right direction in the first place."  
  
"Both of you just calm down. We need to all be working together if we're going to get to Hazel on time for the Pokémon Expo, and fighting isn't the way to do it. Now, just pull out your sleeping bags and go to bed. I've got the first watch. Ash, I'll wake you up in two hours."  
  
"Fine, fine...good night, Misty."  
  
"Blow it out your ass, Ketchum."  
  
"Sweet dreams to you too."  
  
Brock sighed again. After five minutes, they both were fast asleep, Pikachu resting on Ash's head. Brock was left alone with his thoughts and the steadily burning campfire. 'Two hours of peace and quiet...I don't know how I'll manage.' Brock snickered. He stopped when he heard rustling in the bushes. As he turned, the rustling stopped. He waited there, motionless, for another half hour, carefully watching the bushes. Then simply sat around for the next two hours. As he shuffled over to wake Ash, there was trouble afoot in the bushes.  
  
"Jessie, are you sure this is a good plan?"  
  
"How can it NOT be a good plan, you moron," Jessie whispered back, "we sneak up on the site, fire these stun nets at the twerp and his friends, then run off with the Pikachu. One of them is going to be groggy from being up, and the other two will be fast asleep. It's perfect - nay, foolproof."  
  
"Yeah, but you two are a whole new level of fool," Meowth shot back.   
  
"...I don't know why we even bring you on these trips anymore."  
  
With that, two things happened. One, Ash got up and started to walk around, trying to get awake again so he could watch over his friends. As he shuffled only ten feet away from the fire, the second of the two things happened. A twig snapped behind Jessie, James, and Meowth. They turned around, expecting to see a Spearow or Pidgey. What they found was something completely different.  
  
"M-M-Mewtwo!" James exclaimed. "The Boss let you out?"  
  
"Of course, you fools...you didn't think your incompetence would go unnoticed, did you?"  
  
"But we're about to spring a surefire trap!"  
  
"Nothing with you fools is surefire," Mewtwo retorted, "and master has realized that."  
  
Ash, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and picking the sleep out of his ears, was just not beginning to get a grasp on the situation back in the bushes. He looked just in time to witness what would start years of pain and anguish for him. Little did he know, but the next five minutes would change his life.  
  
"What do you mean, 'The Boss realized that'?" Jessie asked.  
  
"He's sent me to make sure you fools never ruin another of his brilliant plans again. I've been ordered to destroy you. ALL of you." With that, the took one glance at Meowth...then kicked a hole right through him. With little effort and amazing speed, he snatched Jessie and James both by the throats and lifted them high in the air.  
  
"Nothing personal, fools," Mewtwo laughed, "just business."  
  
As Jessie's vision started cutting out, she realized she had one chance. Firing the stun net. It might not stop him, but it would give them time to get away from the monster.  
  
With her remaining energy, Jessie thrust the stun net launcher directly into Mewtwo's eye, making him howl in pain. The net itself couldn't eject, since it was jammed into Mewtwo's face, but the electrical charge remained. Unfortunately, Jessie had forgotten that Mewtwo might not let go. Both her and James suffered a massive dosage of electricity, but at the same time...they felt something new. Something different. It was clean, but stained. Pure, but tainted. All powerful, and yet, somehow...contained. Their eyes opened wide as they were hit with it - Mewtwo's powers. The shock had not only removed Mewtwo's power, but the electrical current served as a phone wire, transferring the information directly into the two helpless humans Mewtwo still held high in his grasp.  
  
Ash stood, shocked at what he saw. Unbeknownst to him, Brock and Misty were completely awake, and also watching the display while laying safely on the ground. What happened next was the most frightening minute of Ash Ketchum's life...and the last minute of Brock and Misty's lives.  
  
Jessie and James, having been released from the grip of Mewtwo's now cold, dead hands, hovered five feet above the ground. Their bodies were surrounded with pure energy, swirling and buzzing, crackling like electricity. Their eyes were pure red, their hair had gone pure white from all of the extra energy. Still unable to control the evil that was now within them, Jessie and James could do nothing but scream and pound from the dark recesses of their own minds as their bodies turned to look towards the two teenagers lying on the ground next to the fire.  
  
As Ash screamed, Jessie and James sent a whirling mix between a fireball and an energy ball straight at the helpless two lying on the ground. The last remnants of Brock and Misty were their barely noticeable shadows, etched into the fire and energy that encircled them, and even that soon disappeared.   
  
Ash stood, stunned. He looked over the charred ashes of logs, a few backpacks, and two innocent, perfectly peaceful human beings. Jessie and James both let out a laugh, one that chilled Ash to the bones. It was one of awakening. One of realization. No longer the scared adults they once were, Jessie and James had adapted to their newfound powers.   
  
Then they both turned to Ash.  
  
Ash cringed and got ready to meet up with Brock and Misty again, sooner than he expected. Then, something happened.  
  
Ash not only stood defiant, but started walking TOWARDS Jessie and James, as if he had newfound hope. As he walked, a strange force surrounded him. One of pure energy, untainted and clear. Jessie and James actually took one step back, stunned at what they saw. The boy had powers? Impossible! While the notion seemed crazy, they decided to test him.  
  
With one movement of his hand, James sent Ash flying forty feet into a tree. As Ash hit the ground, his formerly large energy field had gone completely dead. Ash was unconscious. Sensing the perfect opportunity, James moved in for the kill.  
  
"Wait!" Jessie yelled. "The boy has a chance to become a worthy opponent. You saw his energy."  
  
"Yes, but it was only over the anger of his friends' death. He could never summon that type of power without a motivation so grieve."  
  
"I'm not so sure. The boy handled the power well. We've known all along that he had something special, and maybe this is it. Kill him? No. Give him time to train, time to think about the death of his only family. Maybe he'll turn into a fighter WORTH killing. For now, he's a boy with no clue of his powers or potential. Leave him be. When he regains consciousness, we'll know. Then we'll watch him."  
  
Laughing, the two disappeared in a flame of fire and energy, knowing that Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town would one day be a very worthy opponent.  
  
From under the ashes of a few backpacks, a couple logs, and two innocent, perfectly peaceful human beings...a Pikachu stirred. Sitting up, he licked his paws and shook the excess 'dust' from his coat. He saw his master unconscious by a tree and wandered over, nuzzling against him. It would only be a matter of time before Ash woke up, so all that was left was to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.  



End file.
